Reconcile
by Reaper's Fyre
Summary: Greed is a creature not yet understood by man. As years pass, Greed has given towards the rise of a corrupt organization named Rebirth that threatens to dominate the world. Daelus Green, a human with overwhelming hatred towards the organization, fights to rid the world of this plague, but with the enslavement of Pokemon, can he? Rated M for Violence and Harsh Language.
1. Beginnings

Why is it that Uxie imbued us human beings with the emotion of avarice and selfishness? In what time has greed ever given an advancement towards the life of another. Greed, pride, gluttony, lust; all the emotions that one must never have were given to us by one of the almighty Legends: a Lord of Emotion. Many questions have gone unanswered such as why, or what gave the Lord of Emotion the idea that greed, pride and lust would be a benefit to life? All of these various sins breed hatred, one of the most corrupting emotions known to pokemon and humans alike. And again, why the need for such emotions?

The Creators of Life are fickle creatures. Strange and convoluted to the point of driving a human mad. We cannot judge them, however. They created all life that exists, they gave us the ability to think, to speak, to feel. And yet, among all those wonderful feelings that give us euphoria, they gave us poison that seeps into the crevices of every thinking brain.

A creature as fickle and strange as the Creators of Life themselves, Hatred.

Daelus Green was the child of a poor family, born and raised in a poor village, in a poor country. Him and his family fought and worked themselves to the bone for food. Life was hard, and most times his family hardly had any home to sleep in. The nights were cold, the days always tiring. Despite all these hardships, his family was happy. Happy to be living together, fighting together, working together, surviving together.

Upon the uprising of Rebirth, that all changed.

Rebirth bloomed from a country of thugs and criminals. A dark place in the world called Syris Dom. The organization promised wealth, prosperity, food. What the country received was death, fire and bloodshed. Rebirth sucked the land dry of its dwindling wealth, not stopping until what remained was a dry husk of land. When there was nothing more to leech from that dreaded place, they migrated West.

Draydel village, a small village bordering the section between Syris Dom and Aliatus was one the first to be hit. Daelus' family inhabited that village. Daelus was of among the few that survived, while his family and the others not-so-fortunate were butchered and turned to ash.

Daelus could still remember the faces of all those helpless people who suffered horrible ends.

His family died, all for the sake of greed.

After this event, everything changed. Daelus was no longer a child, no longer a helpless whelp. The old Daelus died alongside his family. The new Daelus found vengeance.

Time aged, and Rebirth began enslaving pokémon for fulfilling difficult tasks, or for the mere enjoyment of capturing pokémon against their will. Civilians quickly partook in their sick pleasure and soon friends became pets, and partners became slaves. The world had turned.

Another organization slowly grew to stand and fight against the lies of those who called themselves members of Rebirth. The organization's name was Truth. All those under its wing fought to redeem fallen family and friends, and expose the martyr that Rebirth truly was. They trained their soldiers under martial arts and the art of stealth, turning each individual into a force to be reckoned with.

Secrets hidden well within Rebirth came to fruition, showing to those willing to see what Rebirth's intentions really were.

Rebirth wanted to capture Mew, the Goddess of Life.

With Mew in its clutches, Rebirth wanted to pave the way towards a new era, one that enslaved humans and pokémon alike. A new world where everything was in the hands of godlike individuals.

Tension between Truth and Rebirth quickly arose, and war burned within the country of Aliatus. Destruction ensued in peaceful prairies, decorating beautiful lands red with the blood of fallen soldiers. The world knew only war.

Truth met an unfortunate demise. The people of Aliatus began tiring of the war, sick of all the killing and rivalry. Rebirth quickly stepped up and began appealing to the civilians' desires, spewing lies about the traitorous members of Truth. People swarmed into the organization by the hundreds, and Truth, already dwindling in military forces, was overwhelmed.

Those of Truth who survived the destruction of the war, were branded traitors of Aliatus, and condemned to execution.

Despite this setback, the remaining members continued the hunt against the poisonous influence of Rebirth. Past leaders of Truth assigned covert missions to their remaining supporters; orders to eliminate any patriotic members of Rebirth. Truth soon became a symbol of fear amongst the higher acolytes of Rebirth, and as more and more of the Rebirth fell within the shadows, the name Truth slowly lost all meaning and Justice came to replace the title.

Members of Justice gained the name Shadow Blades amongst the populace, referencing to the killers' abundant skill in undetectable assassinations. With impeccable teamwork amongst the Shadow Blades, enemies were dispatched in mere seconds, rendering the members of Rebirth paranoid with fear.

Despite it's tactical strength, Justice was not invulnerable. Often times, Rebirth would use their numbers to overwhelm the Shadow Blades, effectively eliminating and capturing valuable members of Justice. This led to the loss of highly valued assets of the organization, slowing down the growth process of Justice's military power. Not everyone could survive the missions they received, and those who did were valued as family. Justice was otherwise a family fighting for what it believed in.

Edit 9/9/13: This story will be based on medieval times so expect swords, arrows and the like.


	2. The Hunt

Puddles exploded under the stomping of heavy boots. The individual was sprinting for his life, panting in exhaustion and fear as he sprinted through the labyrinth that was Chiaris Forest. Falor was being chased down by Shadow Blades, there was no doubt about it now. His past experience with the dreaded rogues had cost him an eye and several fingers. Falor made the mistake of blowing his cover, trying to listen in on the enemy's intel, now he was paying the price with his life.

No, he wasn't going to die. There was no way he would allow it. He would fool them again and walk a free man, living to serve Rebirth another day. If he could just make it past this forest, Falor would make it to the village in no time, and escape the clutches of the nefarious Shadow Blades once more.

The twang of a bow made Falor's stomach jump to his throat. The overwhelming pain that followed consumed his ability to scream and forced him to fall to the ground into a heap of leaves. Through the agonizing pain that crawled up his leg like acid, Falor quickly realized where he had fallen upon and paled. He had been caught in a trap like an animal.

The sharp crack of rope echoed through the eerie trees of the Chiaris Forest before the trap sprung. A rope found its way around Falor's throat before it quickly tightened around it like a vice. Falor was instantly yanked up by the neck, stopping just shy off the leaves of the tree in front of him. His heart beat in his ears as he choked and sputtered against his noose, swinging his legs in panic.

Through his hazy vision, Falor made out the team of four who had been hunting him down for the past ten minutes. It was over. Falor knew he was going to die. 'I was so close.'

The one who appeared to be the leader of the squad stepped up to gaze in Falor's dying eye. He spoke words that could hardly be heard through the booming in the dying man's ears. Nevertheless, his short speech was still heard.

"Now you will die for the sins you and your brothers have committed after all these treacherous years. You are not the last one who will fall by our hand. May Giratina have mercy on your tainted soul..."

Falor could only sputter in protest as he watched the small group walk away, leaving him to die an agonizingly slow death. The four could still hear the ratcheting sound of the man struggling on his noose as they walked away.

The four took their time walking out of the leafy foliage if Chiaris' maze. Their way out was peaceful and silent, only the faint sounds of pidgeys chirping in the distance. This blissful moment of silence was, of course, cut short by the idiotic one of the four, Jarek.

"I'll return in a moment," he said, turning back the way they came.

Daelus, the leader couldn't help but drop his head into his palm. "You're going back for your arrow aren't you."

"Correct, apologies for not doing it sooner."

"For Arceus' sake, can't you disregard the loss of one measly arrow!"

Jarek quickly stepped into that ridiculous pose that the other three dreaded so much. "Those arrows were handcrafted from the feathers of the marvelous Ho-Oh herself-"

"-forged by the hands of Lycos the Brave, and passed down in your family from generation to generation. We've listened to your story dozens of times!" the irritated Daelus was ranting now.

"Then why do you keep questioning my belief in the power of Ho-Oh's arrows?"

"Just because we choose to hear your story does not mean we actually believe that ludicrous tale!"

The only non-talkative members of the team could only watch as the idiot and the captain argued over something so insignificant, laughing to themselves as the two ranted on and on. Tiryul and Abel never stepped between the two because of how common of an occurrence the arguments between the two were, instead deciding to let the two yell at each other until their fuses burned out or they reached a stalemate (which was highly unlikely).

This time, they merely allowed them to continue bickering, chuckling to themselves as Daelus complained over the smallest things and Jarek argued against him.

Eventually, the two dropped the useless topic and Jarek left for his ammunition. Daelus was still mumbling to himself as the three split away from Jarek and made for the nearest inns. Tiryul and Abel smirked to themselves as Daelus mumbled obscenities about the archer, things that one would hear coming from children. The way Daelus regarded pet peeves it would seem he was a child.

As they arrived to the first inn, each broke off to separate directions. They decided they didn't want to attract too much attention by staying in a group so they each went to different locations to stay for the night.

As Daelus trudged into a small inn, curiously named The Old Murkrow, everyone inside snapped to attention. Upon seeing the two blades sheathed at his waist, the people fell quiet. Daelus paid no mind to it, walking up to the clerk despite the suspicious looks he received. "I simply need a room to rest for the night," he said, dropping a small fortune on the table.

The clerk eyed the Daelus's two weapons, it seemed that people who owned weapons weren't regarded as much in Chiaris. Before handing Daelus a key to a room, the man quickly questioned Daelus. "Will there be any problems with your stay?"

"Not unless someone else starts one," he quickly assured the owner.

Somewhat reluctantly, the clerk handed Daelus the key to an upstairs bedroom. Daelus snatched the keys without a thought and trudged up the stairs, oblivious to the leering gazes of other people.

The night was tolerable, only the occasional bang of boisterous neighbors cutting through the silence. Through the darkness, Daelus' eyes stayed wide open. His mind was running at a thousand miles per second, it was always thinking, always calculating. Daelus had a rare case of active insomnia. Sleep for him was nearly impossible.

Despite what most people thought, his condition was actually very beneficial: it had saved him on more than one occasion. A sleepless mind kept him wide awake, allowing for him to be alert and prepared for attacks. The only real drawback to this was, on a bad day, he was more sluggish than normal. Not a good disadvantage to have as an assassin.

Even though the others hated Daelus' sleep-deprived state (mostly because of his short fuse), Daelus didn't think it bothered him.

"Sleep is a hunter's noose, knowledge is a hunter's blade," he would always say. They still argued with him about his inability to sleep, not knowing it was a chronic problem.

In his bed, time sailed by, minutes stretched into hours and in no-time flat, it was morning. Birds could be heard from outside the window, chirping and tweeting within the sunlight that bathed Daelus' room. Diurnal animals scurried out off their hiding spots, roaming about the open field of Chiaris village. Dew glistened off the petals of blooming flowers, dowsing the land with vibrant reds, yellows, and blues. The morning was a beautiful creature.

Daelus threw the blankets aside and prepared to regroup with his team.

"Well, you look mighty giddy this morning! Were you finally able to get some shut-eye?"

The group had converged to a clear plain bordering the forest of Chiaris. Their position was clear of wandering eyes, the only exception being wild pokémon within Chiaris Forest. The group ignored them, as did the creatures.

Daelus ignored Tiryul's subtle jab. "Are you still nagging to me about that? My, I never would have known that you, one so endeared with women, would be so attentive towards men," he scoffed, adding a little jab of his own.

"Bah, don't get too excited with yourself. I won't be turning anytime soon."

"Thanks for reassuring me," Daelus smirked.

"Well, if you two ladies are done bickering with each other, I'd like to announce that The Triad has given us two more assignments to complete by the end of this month," Abel broke in to redirect the conversation. "They have agreed to give us a leave for a maximum of three weeks. Since we are their most valuable asset, we can't afford any extended leaves of absence."

Jarek finally spoke. "You'd think The Triad would give their most valuable assets more time to relax from all their hard work."

Daelus clutched his face with an open hand. "They can't give us any extended rest because we are the best at what we do, you idiot! If they were to lose us, their hold on the war would shift over to Rebirth!"

"No need to get edgy."

"Then enough with your ridiculous statements!"

"Calm down! Now is not the time for another one of your arguments," Tiryul broke in. "Honestly, you two bicker like women," he muttered quietly.

"Fine," Daelus sighed before focusing on the task at hand. "Abel, our targets and their current ranks in Rebirth, if you will."

Abel revealed a small scroll from a side pouch, before he unwrapped it and read it out loud. "Igor Balodan, 2nd Chief Warrant officer and David Strais, Second Lieutenant."

Jarek whistled in surprise.

"Wow. They've achieved very high in the social pyramid, Daelus said. "Why have they been targeted?"

Abel looked at the scroll once more. "Balodan has been targeted for leading a covert attack on a small village outside of Beun county. Strais, for the enslavement of nearly thirty percent of all Rebirth's pokémon drive." He then turned the paper to reveal brief illustrations of both individuals.

Daelus looked closely at the death warrant before him, staring at the face of David Strais and Igor Balodan in disgust. "It seems we need to decide on which shall be our first hit. What say you, gentlemen?"

The three immediately understood this professional gesture and let their opinions be known. "Strais!"

Daelus let out a devious smirk. "Strais it is."

**-ReapersFyre: As you probably already know, this is my first time posting stories on Fan Fiction, so forgive me if this story seems kind of crummy at first. I've actually been working on this story for several months ahead of time, editing stuff here and there to make it how I think it should be. Nevertheless, please Review, I'd appreciate it if you left me reviews to see what i can improve on. And please, no flaming.**


	3. The Assault

The group arrived to the rural village of Aldam. Their intended target: David Strais. Being a high ranking individual in Rebirth's army, David had been targeted for his enormous contribution in Rebirth's massive slave industry. By eliminating Strais, the industry would lose a valuable player in turning the tide of the war, which was creeping in the shadows.

Taking down Strais was no simple task. He had concealed himself within Aldam's walls; a village long overrun by Rebirth's army. The village was completely controlled by Rebirth, the citizens kneeled before them, not fighting against a force much stronger than themselves. Now, the poor village was swarming with Rebirth troops, the military expanding a mile outside the vicinity of Aldam. The task of getting near Aldam itself was a task difficult as it was dangerous.

It took several weeks but the hunters slipped through the gaps in Rebirth's defences, sneaking through the lands of Aldam with not a sound to their feet. It was now the middle of the night and only a small band of patrols were surveying the village streets.

The Shadow Blades were now breaching over the roof of a military household, avoiding the eyes of any wandering troops.

Daelus gestured to his partner and Jarek quickly followed. "Hop on the roof and provide us some cover in the event that things get edgy."

Jarek nodded and sprinted towards Daelus, who immediately boosted him up to higher position. Jarek disappeared onto the roof above.

Daelus quickly made his way around the buildings, diving into a bush at the sound of incoming Rebirth troops. With a silent step, Daelus lurked through the shadows, detecting several individuals looming in the night. After several minutes, his movement was cut short when a pair of soldiers stopped ahead of him. They were still unaware of his presence and were shirking their orders and relaxing behind the cover of a building.

Daelus grabbed the soldier at his right, muting his speech and impaling him through the back with a large dagger. The other immediately noticed the struggle and reached for his blade.

The action was cut short when an individual landed on him from above. Not wasting a second, the attacker quickly dragged a knife across his throat, ending his life.

Daelus nodded in appreciation. Tiryul only grunted in response and they both shortened the distance between themselves and the main building.

Daelus gestured towards his eyes before pointing below him, towards the window. Jarek, still perched on the roof of another building, shook his head as a negative. Daelus quickly grabbed Tiryul's attention and made a three fingers gesture. Tyrul immediately understood. He took off a small pack before tossing two small, black spheres towards Daelus, who caught them in an instant.

Putting plan B in motion, they both crept towards the sides of the main building before hanging themselves just outside each window. They immediately broke through the glass with the objects, Daelus moving alongside the edge to get another window.

Daelus noticed that the objects, upon impacting against solid ground, began to exude a heavy green smoke, and he immediately pulled himself back on the roof. "Gah. Abel, your little toys better be worth the trouble," Daelus muttered to himself.

A period of silence followed.

Then it was interrupted by three explosions of toxic gas. The chemicals permeated through the entire building, suffocating the victims trapped inside. Daelus put part two in motion. He gave a two fingers gesture to Jarek, who revealed his arrows of myth.

The long bow creaked with tension and Jarek watched as his legendary arrow burst into flame. It sprouted from the base of the arrow (where the feathers were) and traveled up to the arrowhead, glimmering brightly.

With a sharp "twang", the arrow rocketed towards its target, the toxic fumes.

Every individual around the vicinity of Aldam heard the explosion. Daelus and Tiryul were nearly deafened by it. They took a moment to shake off their daze before Daelus got Tiryul's attention. "Cover up and confirm the kill!"

They leapt through the windows opposite from each other and Daelus screened his face from the smell of burning flesh. There was still a semblance of toxic fumes wafting through the building, but were now harmless.

Daelus and Tiryul spent several minutes searching for David Strais, in their heads the clear illustration that was on the kill order. The target finally revealed himself, bloodied and charred. He was crawling across a blackened floor towards an empty room, possibly to find a weapon.

Strais was in his early thirties with messy gray hair, now singed at the tips. He had a five o'clock shadow accenting his chin, and large gray eyes that had seen far too much in his young life. His face was broad and square-like, with several stress wrinkles lining his forehead. A section of his left cheek had been badly scorched with the explosion and most of his body was covered in third degree burns.

He had not noticed the two until they finally spoke. "Why hello there, Mister Strais."

David's eyes widened in slight fear, and he crawled faster in a vain attempt to escape. His efforts were unfruitful as the two assassins restrained him, pulling him inside the room. Despite his cries of pain, they made no attempt to lessen his agony, instead opting to make him feel worst.

Soon enough, he was tied to a chair, his arms and legs restrained, with a noose dangling loosely around his neck.

"I can't wait for all of you bloody Shadow Blade pigs to die, so we can finally this world of that filth," Strais spoke quietly, referring to Justice.

He took a second to squirm in his seat slightly. "You think you're heroes! You try to stop the evolution of a new era, one where we do not have to fear the presence of the animals in our midst!" The trio listened to his ramblings, if only to humor the deluded soldier.

"This world is harsh and sick! We can finally of be rid of this pokémon menace, but you bloody pigs show us down at every turn." David struggled against his bonds as his anger began to burn. "You animals think you can stop us? Rebirth will prevail, and you will be capable of doing nothing but watch as the world sets forth the birth of a new era!"

Now Strais was incredibly aggravated, yanking at the ropes tying his hands and feet. "I curse all of you Shadow Blade filth! I hope that you all burn in the bloody pits of the Distorted W-guurck," his ramble was cut short as the noose now clutching his neck was yanked upwards, and was pulled up to the point where the chair was no longer touching the ground. Tyrul tied the end of the rope down to an immovable object, and Strais hung from his neck, choking and coughing to death.

With his hands and feet tied down, Strais could only swing on the chair as the two watched him slowly die. There wasn't a hint of remorse in their eyes. They simply watched him. He could feel death's cold hands embracing him, his hands and feet going numb, a ghostly chill traveling up his spine. Rebirth would prevail, and the Shadow Blade scum would grovel on their knees when it's plans overcame their broken military.

He would wait for them when they arrived in the Distortion World.

The entire complex shook with the concussive blasts that came from several buildings away.

"What was that!" A colonel stood up of his seat.

The entire village was immediately awash in an uproar of alert bells. Four different bells resonated with each other to alert all forces of an invasion. A sergeant rushed into the command room, covered in sweat. He didn't waste a second in informing his commanding officer. "Sir, there has been a breach in all three slave departments!"

"Colonel! The debriefing facility has been attacked!"

Several different alerts name from a variety of informants, the Colonel was stunned at the impossibility of this assault. Until he understood who responsible for all these simultaneous attacks. They were the only ones capable of this sort of scenario. "It's the Shadow Blades!"

The colonel shouted towards every individual in the room, "I want every available canine unit dispatched towards all the afflicted areas! I want all men ensuring that the slaves have been contained, not a single prisoner is allowed to escape this place! By the time this is over, I want every one of those Shadow Blade bastards' heads on a stake and all those Pokémon locked in the darkest basement in this village! If anything goes wrong, all of you can say goodbye to your ranks in this organization!"

Needless to say, all personnel jumped to work, running in and out with haste. The area was a jumbled mess of people and within minutes the barks of canines echoed around the village. Meanwhile, the colonel trembled in his chair, not of anger but of fear.

'If things go sour the commander will be preparing me for a batch of angry Sharprdo.'

"I want minimal casualties. If you can avoid it, try not to kill any of their Pokémon forces. This is supposed to be an assassination mission, I know, but I want to put a dent in their firepower for future conflict," Daelus said to each one of his teammates. "Keep in mind, Pokémon are not mindless and will attack if afraid. We need make our intention clear to them, do not rush forward at them. They will decide if they want to be saved or not. Of course... some may need a little nudge, but ensure that they understand what your intentions are."

"Yes, sir," the other three chimed in.

"In the event, that the Pokémon attack you, you are to step aside and let some of the others appeal to their species. They will most likely be more lenient towards someone of the same race."

The three nodded and Daelus continued.

"Once again, I do not want any slave casualties. It may be an acception for the Triad, but I will take it as a failure," Daelus turned to his comrades. "...and you all know how I feel about failures."

The team shuddered, remembering the last time they failed an assassination attempt so many years ago. Daelus ran over their attack strategies until it was drilled into their heads that failure was not an option.

They immediately stiffened, giving a brief "sir" in response.

"Outside of missions I am your friend. But during missions, before I am friend, I am your captain and you will follow orders accordingly," Daelus droned before turning his back to them. "You know what to do, men."

They all took off towards a section of the village ahead.

Tiryul clearly remembered his captain's orders as he led the Pokémon out of the village, directing them towards a large, empty cave. Everything, for the most part, was going according as planned. The idea was to attract the attention of all the personnel in the village, and direct them towards two of the closest slave buildings that had already been hollowed out by them from the start. Stealth allowed Tiryul make quick work of the guards protecting the each of the decoy buildings, and simply making bigger Pokémon dig an exit leading outside of the village allowed for an unnoticed escape. The explosion was caused by a Flygon, who eagerly agreed to unleash a Hyper Beam on the building.

Two more explosions were heard all around, indicating to him that he was to attack the most heavily guarded slave facility. This last building was too well protected, so stealth was not a viable option.

They would need the entire team to effectively take the building. It was lined with archers all around, followed by soldiers protected with kiteshields guarding the area from below. Tiryul was the only one capable of defending from the archers, he was carrying a Nidoking hide berserker shield, which was why he was entitled to eliminating all the archers for the others to rush into the building without the threat of arrows.

Sneaking silently through the bushes, he made his way near the wall before taking off in a sprint. The guards spotted him just as he reached the wall but by the time they reached him, he had already made too high. Quick as a spider, Tiryul used the protruding bricks as a ladder, using any of the prison windows to leap to a higher position. It took only seconds before he was on the roof the of the building. He equipped his shield just before vaulting over the ledge. As soon as he lunged over, an arrow ricocheted off the shield's tough surface.

Some of the archers surrounding Tiryul brandished small daggers to defend themselves, while others hung back to strike him down with arrows. Another one of the archers fired off an arrow, only for it to be deflected. Tiryul didn't give him a second, rushing him and bashing his skull with thick hide. The archer sailed off the building screaming as all other archers attacked.

Instantly, the rooftop became a miniature battlefield. Tiryul was blocking this way and slashing that way. A bash of a shield sent archers flying off the roof and blood was staining the rooftop.

Tiryul smacked away an incoming dagger, stabbing the owner of said weapon in the throat with a sword. He spotted an archer prepping an arrow and moved his shield to deflect it as he parried a short sword. Booting a man off the roof, he turned to face another.

Tiryul spotted the same archer as before prepared another arrow, out of the corner of his eye. He quickly impaled the man in front of him, before turning the body with him. The arrow struck his human shield's shoulder and he dropped the body, rushing the archer. Tiryul bashed the archer's head to the side, making him drop to one knee. With a quick swipe, the archer's head was sent rolling to the floor.

Tyrul turned just in time to block a dagger coming for his gut. All he received was a glancing blow but he still felt it. The dagger fell out of his attacker's hand from the shield bash, leaving the archer defenseless. Tiryul impaled the archer's chest on his blade. He quickly withdrew his blade from the man's chest before shielding from another arrow coming from his side.

The archer was sent flying off the building.

There were only two archers left. When they saw Tiryul standing amongst all the bloodshed, virtually unarmed, they fled knowing full well what the future held for them if they attempted to fight.

Tiryul, looking pleased with himself, relayed his signal to the sky. In an instant, the other three burst out of the and unleashed hell on the remaining guards below. Having minimal combat experience and lacking training, the guards were quickly dispatched. Blood decorated the floor and a path of bodies was made that led towards the jail's entrance.

The four Shadow Blades quickly rushed inside the building where they were walled off by more guards. Daelus called out to his teammates as he parried a downward slash, "We don't have much time! We need to get in there, Now!"

The others complied to the best of their ability, bashing and cutting their way into the crowded facility. After several grueling minutes that felt like hours, the crowd of Rebirth began to slowly diminished.

The team was finally able gain some leeway and Daelus took advantage of it. "Tiryul, Jarek, to the sky!"

Tiryul didn't waste a second, turning his shield to face Jarek. The fellow archer sheathed his short sword before equipping his bow once more, he launched himself at the shield. Using the shield as a springboard, Jarek was sent rocketing in the air. With his adept skills in archery he caught the wall of soldiers off guard, firing off several arrows at the backs of unsuspecting prison guards.

The rest took advantage of the villains' surprise and finished them off while they turned to cover their backs.

The area was finally clear enough to continue as the last guard fell to the ground. The team took off down separate halls, already knowing what their orders

Daelus arrived to one of the holding rooms with little trouble, only one or two guards blocking his path. When he reached the holding cells he almost retched when a horrid odor assaulted his nose. The stench of blood, feces, and rotten corpses permeated in the entire room, only a testament of what had truly occurred in there. Daelus ignored his gag reflex and lifted the steel bar from the door containing everything that awaited him inside.

Opening the door, Daelus called to the captured pokémon. "Any of you who can fi-"

Daelus almost failed to stop the bile that crept into his mouth. There were four mangled bodies of unfortunate victims strewn across the cell floors. The prisoners that remained stayed in the dark corners of their cells, ultimately broken.

**Sorry, for such a late turn in, ive been pretty busy working and couldnt break in enough time to get this entire thing done in one sitting. There might be some points where writing is a bit off, but i hope it didn't bother you as much and you enjoyed the chapter either way.**

**That is pretty much it. didnt really have much to say. Toaster waffles ~3**


	4. The Escape

Here's the fourth chapter! Quick tip: **This is Telepathy**, _This is thoughts_, This is Regular Speech. Without further ado, enjoy!

After minutes of standing within the murky chamber, Daelus emptied his stomach onto the blood-encrusted stone floor. The stench of rotted corpses made his stomach heave with every breath he took. The odor was so strong he could taste it. Add to that, the innumerable amount of bodies that littered the area, limbs bent to horrifying angles, flesh ripped open to reveal the wet entrails of helpless pokémon. There was so much blood.

Daelus finally restrained his gag impulse and stood on shaky legs. He shielded his face with a trembling hand, only to recoil when a liquid squelched against his face. His palm was coated in deep red, nearly black blood.

Daelus immediately wiped the tainted hand against his armor, reminding himself that he had a mission to fulfill, secretly fearful of the dark tint.

He coughed several times to clear out his throat before directing his attention to the cells. "Pokémon who can fight, I'm going to require your help to get everyone out of this place!"

There was only silence. Daelus couldn't help but shudder. _Are they really all gone?_

"Anyone? I can free you, but I'm going to require help!" Not a single soul moved. The darkness obscured their features from view; Daelus couldn't clearly see if they had life in them.

_They can't all be dead, that's... they can't all be dead. Please don't be. Arceus, please... _Daelus muttered to himself as he walked past the cells.

As if to prove their fate, an accidental nudge caused one of the Pokémon to slide off the cell bars, falling directly into a patch of dim light. The only visible feature was the creatures eye. It was glazed over with a grey, dead iris, glaring back at Daelus with a hollow stare. The sight of it made a prickly chill crawl down Daelus' back.

Daelus had to fight the urge to sprint to the exit. _What's the matter with you! You are a battle-worn assassin, and here you are getting frightened by the very thing you do! Get your act together! _he screamed to himself.

Daelus finally managed to detach his from the floor and got closer to the cages. He banged on the bars to time up any of the figures inside to no avail. _I'm wasting too much time._

Daelus caught the glimpse of a gap between cells. It appeared to be an extension of the chamber. _Is that a separate room?_

His hope seemed to rejuvenate at the thought and he rushed through the gap. Upon reaching the area within, Daelus was assaulted by a frosty chill. The chamber ahead was black as pitch, a sense of dread suddenly dropped on Daelus' shoulders. Something terrible had occurred in the room. His instincts were shouting at him to retreat but he steeled himself for whatever laid before him, while there was still a chance of survivors he would not leave.

Stepping lightly into the chamber, he searched the darkness for any visible life. In the blackness, he was able to focus his eyes enough to see a short wooden table. The piece of furniture was ornate and incredibly made, a strange sight to see in a place with so much horror. Moving further he noticed a candle, short and nearly finished. The object was placed upon what appeared to be a mount made of pure gold with an intricate design just barely visible in the darkness.

Daelus picked the candle off from the table and reached for one of his many pockets, searching for a small match. As soon as he found what he was looking for, he quickly struck the match against the ornate table. He reached up to light the small candle before his entire body froze. The sound of the candle being dropped echoed in his ears several times over as he absorbed his surroundings.

Dozens and dozens of Lucarios hung from shackles, all dead. A pile of the honorable creatures stood tall, an innumerable amount of souls lost at the hands of merciless brutes. They were mutilated to obscene amounts.

Daelus' body wouldn't react. He couldn't move. His arms, his legs, nothing. It didn't appear his gag reflex registered this unbelievable sight. How could someone do this?

Daelus body finally forced him to flinch when the match in his trembling fingers finally burned to it's end. His hand recoiled at the flame, causing the match to fall, putting it out.

**Help...**

Daelus' head snapped up when the voice chimed in his head. It was feminine.

**Help... please. My pup...**

Daelus immediately reached behind him and took another match. He quickly took old of the candle holder and ignited the wick. The faint light caused the prisoner to cringe, despite the fire's dimness. The prisoner was a Lucario, female as it were. She, like the others of her kind was shackled against the wall, just high enough so her hind legs didn't touch the floor. Her once blue fur was marred with dark stains, her legs wobbled limply as she hung, presumably broken, her left eye was sealed shut with heavy swelling, and there were dozens of scars and scratches along her body with cuts still evident. There was a jagged laceration along her left side that appeared to be deep; it was bleeding severely, still fresh.

Lucarios were known for their ability to speak telepathically to separate individuals, so Daelus knew it was her voice he had heard.

Daelus immediately set the candle down and ran up to her, pulling out two thin lockpicks to free her from her bonds. "Are there any other surviving prisoners?"

The wounded Lucario answered the best she could, it was as if her labored breaths were hindering her telepathic ability. **Only me... and my pup. Most of the... other prisoners where... sent to other holding chambers..." The Lucario struggled to catch her breath through several broken ribs. "This place is mostly... used as an interrogation chamber.**

_Interrogation? For what?_

The locks finally clicked and the blue jackal fell into Daelus' arms with a pained grunt. He set her down gently before getting the Lucario onto his back. "Where is your pup?" He knew of the Lucarios' incredible ability of sensing the aura of living beings. If she sensed her pup was alive he wouldn't question it.

**... In another room.**

Daelus moved out of the enclosed room as swiftly as possible while trying not to cause the mother pain. The Lucario caught this and quickly intervened. **Do not concern yourself with my personal comfort... just find my pup.**

"Very well," Daelus muttered at her hostile tone. He put it aside though, and pushed forward.

Once he reached the room containing various cages, the Lucario directed him to his right. **...There's a room there.**

He looked closely at the wall before noticing the clear indentations of a wooden door. It made him almost ashamed he hadn't seen it before. He pushed the door in before noticing how different the room was to the last one. Compared to the small cell room, this one was well kept, there was not a trace of dust or grime to be seen. There was, however, the nose-wrinkling stench of dead animal. Lining the walls were cages of all sizes meant to keep quadrupedal pokémon.

"Which one holds your pup?"

She slowly pointed to a small cage nearly touching the front wall. **That one... at the far left.**

Daelus ignored the other cages, clear to him that none of the individuals inside had any life remaining. It made him dread what other horrors occupied the village streets.

There was another lock sealing entrance to the cage. Peering inside, he could see a small ball of blue fur leaning against the other edge of the cage. He thought about getting its attention before he thought to himself, _I'm wasting too much time._

Quickly breaking through the simple lock, Daelus opened the cage door and reached, only to recoil when a pair of sharp teeth bit his hand. He pulled back slightly, but let the attacker do his work on him, to show he meant no harm.

The onslaught on Daelus' hand suddenly stopped and he turned his head to look at the Lucario, who had given him a slight shake.

**I can sense enemies... we must hurry!**

The pup seemed to have heard her, it instantly hopped into Daelus' open hand. The second Daelus pulled out of the cage, he got a good glimpse at the creature, a Riolu. It had blue fur covering most of its body, with black fur covering it's canine hind legs, as well as the tuft covering it's chest and the mask-like design on it's face. On it's wrists were what appeared to be metallic wrist guards that gleamed like polished steel. The Riolu had black pendulum-like orbs that hung from the side of its head, presumably what it used to sense aura like it's Lucario elder.

The creature wasn't all that mistreated, other than slight bruises here and there, but was otherwise kept in great shape. It seemed someone had the humanity to at least feed a poor pup out of sympathy.

The Lucario held on tight to Daelus as they exited the room, back into cell chamber. The assassin hid the pup in his jacket as they quickly made their way out of the facility, the fabric being the perfect defence against any fire breather who crossed their path. The Lucario wouldn't be so lucky, though. However, she had already made it clear not bother himself with her, as it would only serve as a distraction. She would be badly injured if he wasn't at least careful.

At the opening of the door, they could hear the sounds of barking Houndoom. The coming fight would be inevitable. Daelus thought back to his fellow comrades, _I pray they had luck on their side, unlike me._

The minute Daelus took a step out of the door, as expected, two Houndoom came barreling down the halls, frothing at the mouth. Their directive was to kill and Houndoom were some of the more vicious of Pokémon when it came to stalking prey.

The team's time had run out and in Daelus' current vulnerable state, the only option was to escape. The only problem was that there was only one way out; any and all windows were barred to keep prisoners from escaping. Daelus' only hope was that his teammates reached his position in time to save his skin.

"Probably might have been a good idea to bring aid," Daelus muttered to himself.

**Keep me steady... my abilities could be of great use, **the Lucario assured through telepathy.

The Houndoom were now directly in front of the trio, snarling and barking threateningly. They leaned on their forelegs, cautious of any tricks that they should be weary of. When the canines felt the time was right, they sprinted forward, intending to bite and rip the two apart. Daelus easily sidestepped one of them, but the other clung on to his arm with incredible force, crunching down on thick armor. The bite made him cringe, but he ignored it, using the false pretense of being caught within the Houndoom's jaws to deliver a shattering kick to it's side. The surprised canine fell on it's side, relinquishing it's hold on Daelus' forearm, before standing up sloppily from the daze. Daelus went to turn to the other before catching a glimpse of it being sent flying several feet away by a blue orb, courtesy of the Lucario.

He turned back to the first one, who had just recovered from it's momentary daze. The creature suddenly bared it's teeth, snarling as it's white fangs were enveloped by bright orange flames. It rushed towards Daelus with its teeth ready to kill. Daelus discarded the reckless attempt at guarding himself as the heat would most certainly meld his armor against his skin. Instead, he twisted his body, being mindful of the Lucario on him, and bashed the quadruped's skull with a spinning kick. Again, the Houndoom crashed to the floor, this time with vision doubled and a terrible sense of balance. The stubborn canine refused to stay down, struggling to stand on shaky legs once more. Lucario finally knocked the creature into oblivion with an aura sphere.

An intense surge of heat and light suddenly flashed from behind and Daelus immediately dove out of the way of a scorching fire blast. Although he landed sloppily, he managed to avoid more injury from befalling the fortunate Lucario and her pup. The second he landed however, he had to immediately pat his leg with intense ferocity, to try and smother the fire that had caught on his clothing. Swiftly putting out the fire, Daelus looked up just in time to see a pair of jaws heading towards his face. He brought his fist up to uppercut, catching Houndoom off guard. It quickly recovered and tried to snap again, this time caught between the eyes with a force palm. The Houndoom's consciousness was instantly nulled, flying several feet away, out of commission before even touching the ground.

Once he was sure that the canine was unconscious, he stood up as the Lucario wrapped her arms firmly around his neck once more. "Are you okay?"

**I will live... **the Lucario muttered in his mind, quietly but firmly.

More and more Houndoom could suddenly be heard, this time accompanied by the occasional Growlithe and and Houndour. The intensity of barks was a sure giveaway that their numbers had drastically increase, however. Sounds of combat could also be heard, drowned out by sounds of screaming men.

"Where are you?" Daelus thought once more to his fellow teammates as he ran down the halls of the prison facility.

As if to answer his question, the wall to his right was blown apart by a torrent of highly pressurized water, and amidst the chaos of collapsing stone rushed in Tyrul and Abel. Jarek stood atop a hefty Blastoise, striking down men with his arrows while the large tortoise blasted away hounds and men alike with its mighty water cannons. Daelus made his way to help the team when he noticed the large crowd of Pokémon fighting for their freedom just outside the prison walls. The strong pokemon defended against all assailants while the not so powerful Pokémon stayed within the circle to avoid getting hit in the crossfire. Inside also stood four psychic types, who were no doubt working together to teleport all prisoners to the cave. Abel had the psychics read his mind to acquire the exact location of the safe haven, while Tyrul informed all others the plan of escape. Jarek, meanwhile, had set traps to delay the incoming forces while the group was set up.

"Just as I planned," Daelus smirked.

He quickly rushed to the center. The Lucario and Riolu were placed under the care of a Roselia, who was adept at the art of aromatherapy, to relieve stress from the previous encounter and to sooth any wounds that may have accumulated over time.

Once the Lucario was tended to, Daelus rushed back into the battlefield. Brandishing his serrated daggers, he leapt into the fray with a war cry, striking down any soldiers of Rebirth with the intent of saving all the Pokémon before him.

Several minutes passed fighting alongside his brothers, and Daelus' body was beginning to grow weary. "How much more time!"

The Lucario mother spoke into his mind, informed by one of the psychic Pokémon of the time required. **Seven minutes!**

Daelus muttered a curse under his breath, before urging his men to continue. "Fight on! The psychics need at least seven minutes! Give these souls the chance to feel freedom once more!"

The defensive group responded with a chorus of cheers and cries, but the exhaustion was evident in their voices. Nevertheless, they pressed on.

Several more minutes passed, and Daelus was ultimately exhausted. His combat responses were dulled by tiresome muscles and his reflexes were becoming similar to that of a Slakoth. A break in his defence earned him a nasty gash on his left shoulder and his right eye was beginning to close shut from a lucky hit. All in all, he was not fairing very well, as much as the rest of the group. Eventually, their victory was assured when Lucario spoke to him once more. **It's done! Return to the circle!**

"Shadow Blades, retreat!" all four members rushed back into the protective circle of Pokémon, and all defensive Pokémon shielded themselves from outer attacks, effectively protecting the interior as well.

The center of the circle began to glow with psychic energy. Members of Rebirth began to dig in intensely, to no avail. Attacks glanced off the thick hides of powerful Pokémon, doing nothing to stop the Pokémon inside.

The last thing everyone expected was an Arcanine to keep over the wall of Pokémon.

The large canine rushed for the psychic Pokémon, attempting to bring the teleportation to a dead stop. Daelus immediately drop kicked the animal, sending it sprawling on the floor before it stood again, unfazed.

The slightest loss in concentration would mean the psychics would have to start the teleportation from the beginning. Neither Daelus nor any of the Pokémon trying to escape had any energy left to continue fighting. This was their only chance.

The fire breathing hound's body rumbled with a deep growl, glaring intensely at Daelus. Flames suddenly sprouted from it's mouth before they were immediately expelled towards Daelus. Before the flames reached their target, they collided against a large berserker shield before disappearing into nothing.

It had baited him. The moment Tyrul rushed in with his shield, the Arcanine took advantage of the unguarded position. It sent a large ball of fire rocketing towards the Lucario and her pup.

"NOOO!" Daelus' cry of fear was all it took to break a Gardevoir's concentration.

**ReapersFyre: Muahahahahaha~! :D Let the Cliffhangers begin! Anyways, sorry for the delay. My work has been killing me lately. I'll be having a bit of a break after a while though, so I can promise you that, for those of you who like this fanfic, I will be able to post chapters faster. Unless, of course, I feel like being a stubborn dick/lazy potato and decide not to do it. Remember, the more people Like and Review, the more motivation I have to post quicker chapters. Don't be demotivational, be a pal and review. Peace.**


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